Finland will give 3 million euros ($3.3 million) to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to support is education programs for children in Syria, the country's Foreign Ministry said on Monday
HELSINKI (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th December, 2019) Finland will give 3 million Euros ($3.3 million) to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to support is education programs for children in Syria, the country's Foreign Ministry said on Monday.This donation will be a continuation of similar efforts to support Syrian education by the Finnish government from 2017-2018. The money will be used to fund various efforts aimed at mitigating the damage done to the country's education system by the prolonged civil war.
"Finland will allocate EUR 3 million through the UN Children's Fund UNICEF to supporting the most vulnerable children's access to education in Syria. Finland's support will be used for renovating school buildings, supporting non-formal education of 4,500 children by offering out-of-school lessons, psychosocial support and learning materials, and improving access to school and basic services for 500 children with disabilities," the ministry said in a statement.
The Finnish officials also reiterated the country's commitment to improving the state of education in Syria.
"Improving children's education means investments in the future of Syrian people. Over two million children in Syria are out of school. We cannot afford losing this generation. In 2018, more than 70,000 children enrolled in school in Syria thanks to the cooperation between Finland and UNICEF. This is a good start. This time our aim is to help children with disabilities start school and to support their families," Tarja Fernandez, the ambassador of Finland to Lebanon, said.
Helsinki also supports UNICEF's efforts to provide education for Syrian children in Lebanon, Jordan, and Turkey. In 2019, its overall financial aid has been approximately 25 million euros, according to the Foreign Ministry.
The Syrian Civil War has been going on since 2011. During the war, a considerable part of Syrian infrastructure and social institutes were decimated in the fight between President Bashar Assad's forces and different terrorist groups, including the Islamic State (banned in Russia).
